Dollar declines even as Trump denies plans to fire Fed chairman

The US dollar deepened losses on July 16, despite US President Donal Trump denying media reports that he intends to fire Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback's value against six major currencies, fell 0.31% to 98 points at 7:48 pm Makkah time.

The greenback came under pressure following reports published by the US media that Trump discussed the possibility of firing Powell during a meeting with Republican members of Congress on July 15.

However, the president denied the reports in press statements, saying that such an action is highly unlikely and that he does not plan to take it unless Powell is forced to leave his position due to fraud.

White House criticism of Powell has escalated in the recent weeks, against the backdrop of the central bank's refusal to cut interest rates, in addition to what the administration described as unnecessary spending on renovating the bank's headquarters in Washington.

Meanwhile, the euro rose 0.35% to $1.164, the pound sterling gained 0.31% to $1.3421, and the Swiss franc was up 0.15% to $1.2493.

The US currency fell against its Japanese counterpart by 0.48% to 148.11 yen per dollar, and the Chinese currency stabilized in the international spot market at 7.1785 yuan per dollar.